Implement Support Stand

ABSTRACT

A support stand for an implement such as farming equipment is provided. During use of the implement when the implement is connected to a tractor, the support stand is in a stowed position adjacent to a surface of the implement. When the implement is disconnected from the tractor, the support stand is rotatable outwards from the surface of the implement and downwards towards the ground and rests against the ground to maintain the implement in a generally upright position.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of, and claims the benefit of, U.S.Non-Provisional application Ser. No. 12/829,992, filed on Jul. 2, 2010,the entire contents of which are herein incorporated by reference. U.S.patent application Ser. No. 12/829,992 further claims the benefit ofU.S. Provisional Application No. 61/222,666, filed on Jul. 2, 2009, theentire contents of which are herein incorporated by reference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to the field of tractor-based,rotary-driven power equipment, and more particularly relates to asupport stand for tillers and other such implements.

BACKGROUND AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A support stand for a tiller or other such implement is provided. Inoperation, tillers and other farming implements are pulled behind atractor. It is desirable to have a kickstand or support stand to supportthe tiller in an upright position when it is not hitched to the tractorand/or during hitching of the tiller to the tractor.

The tiller comprises a support stand that is stowable when not in use.In this regard, a spring clip retains the support stand against the sideof the tiller. A pivot plate rotatably receives the support stand andallows the support stand to pivot out from the tiller during deploymentto avoid contact with the tiller components. The pivot plate isrotatably connected to the wall of the tiller. When the support stand isfully deployed, it rests against a stop extending from the wall of thetiller. The stop prevents further rotation of the support stand.

For purposes of summarizing the invention, certain aspects, advantages,and novel features of the invention have been described herein. It is tobe understood that not necessarily all such advantages may be achievedin accordance with any one particular embodiment of the invention. Thus,the invention may be embodied or carried out in a manner that achievesor optimizes one advantage or group of advantages as taught hereinwithout necessarily achieving other advantages as may be taught orsuggested herein.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The disclosure can be better understood with reference to the followingdrawings. The elements of the drawings are not necessarily to scale,emphasis instead being placed upon clearly illustrating the principlesof the disclosure. Furthermore, like reference numerals designatecorresponding parts throughout the several views.

FIG. 1 is a front perspective view of an exemplary tiller in accordancewith the present disclosure, with the support stand in its fullydeployed position.

FIG. 2 is a side plan view of the tiller of FIG. 1, with the supportstand in its stowed position.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged detail view of the tiller of FIG. 2, taken alongdetail line “A” of FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is a side plan view of the tiller of FIG. 1, with the supportstand in a partially deployed position.

FIG. 5 is a side plan view of the tiller of FIG. 1, with the supportstand in a fully deployed position.

FIG. 6 is an enlarged detail view of the tiller of FIG. 5, taken alongdetail line “B” of FIG. 5.

FIG. 7 is a top plan view of the tiller of FIG. 2.

FIG. 8 is an enlarged detail view of the tiller of FIG. 7, taken alongdetail line “C” of FIG. 7.

FIG. 9 is a top plan view of the tiller of FIG. 1.

FIG. 10 is a top plan view of the tiller of FIG. 4.

FIG. 11 a is a side perspective view of a pivot plate according to anembodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 11 b is a side plan view of the pivot plate of FIG. 11 a.

FIG. 11 c is an end view of the pivot plate of FIG. 11 a.

FIG. 12 a is a side perspective view of a spring clip according to anembodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 12 b is an end view of the spring clip of FIG. 12 a.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIG. 1 depicts a front perspective view of a tiller 10 according to oneembodiment of the present disclosure. The tiller 10 comprises a tillerbody 75 and rotating tines 76 for conditioning soil (not shown). Asupport stand 11 is rotatably connected to a side 12 of the tiller 10via a pivot plate 14. The support stand 11 contacts the ground (notshown) when the support stand 11 is in a “fully deployed” position, asdiscussed further herein. The support stand 11 enables the tiller 10 toremain upright even when the tiller 10 is unhitched from a tractor (notshown).

In this regard, the tiller 10 comprises a pair of skids 15 which contactthe ground. In normal operation, the tiller 10 is supported by the skids15 and by the tractor, the tractor's support being provided via astandard three-point hitch (not shown). If the tiller 10 is unhitchedfrom the tractor, the tiller 10 would not remain upright due to thecurved nature of the skids 15. The support stand 11 provides support tomaintain the tiller 10 in an upright orientation.

In the illustrated embodiment, the support stand 11 comprises a tubularbar with a generally rectangular cross section. The support stand 11 isrotatably connected to the pivot plate 14 via a fastener 19. The supportstand 11 rotates around an axis (not shown) running through the fastener19.

The pivot plate 14 is rotatably connected to the side 12 of the tiller10 via a pivot plate fastener (not shown). In this regard, the pivotplate 14 rotates in the same plane as the side 12 of the tiller 10. Inthe illustrated embodiment, this plane is the x-y plane. The supportstand 11 is thus effectively rotatable in two different directions withrespect to the tiller 10. First, the support stand 11 rotates withrespect to the pivot plate 14 as discussed above. Second, the supportstand 11 rotates with respect to the tiller 10 via the rotation of thepivot plate 14 in the x-y plane.

FIG. 2 is a side plan view of the tiller 10 of FIG. 1 with the supportstand 11 in a stowed position. In this illustration, the support stand11 is received by a spring clip 13, which retains the support stand 11against the side 12 of the tiller 10. The spring clip 13 is rigidlyconnected to the side 12 of the tiller 10, such that when the supportstand 11 is retained by the spring clip 13, the support stand 11 isprevented from rotating in any direction.

In this embodiment, the spring clip 13 comprises a one-piece, unitaryclip with upper and lower tabs 13 a and 13 b, respectively, whichreceive the support stand 11 and releasably restrain it via a frictionfit.

To release the support stand 11 from the spring clip 13, a user (notshown) may either push tab 13 a upwardly or press tab 13 b itdownwardly. Then the user may pull the support stand 11 outwardly (i.e.,in the +z direction) from the spring clip 13, and the support stand 11will rotate around the fastener 19. The support stand 11 may then berotated counterclockwise to its fully deployed position.

A stop 22 protrudes from the wall 12 and restrains the pivot plate 14when the support stand 11 is in a fully deployed position. The stop 22is partially obstructed by the support stand 11 in FIG. 2, but can bemore clearly viewed in FIGS. 3 and 4. The stop 22 protrudes from thewall 12 such that it does not obstruct the rotation of the support stand11, but it will obstruct movement of the pivot plate 14, as furtherdiscussed herein.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged detail view of the tiller 10 of FIG. 2, takenalong detail line “A” of FIG. 2. The stop 22 is an oblong protrusionthat extends outwardly from the wall 12 of the tiller 10. In thisembodiment, the stop 22 comprises a forward straight side 80, a rearwardstraight side 81, a top rounded side 82, and a bottom rounded side 83,and an outermost edge 66.

The stop 22 extends generally perpendicularly from the wall 12 of thetiller 10, but does not extend so far that it contacts the support stand11, as further illustrated in FIG. 8 herein. After the support stand 11is rotated in its fully deployed position, the stop 22 restrains thepivot plate 14 from further rotation, as further illustrated in FIG. 6herein.

FIG. 4 is a side plan view of the tiller 10 of FIG. 2, with the supportstand 11 partially rotated but not fully deployed. In this illustration,the support stand 11 has rotated counterclockwise from its stowedposition (as illustrated in FIG. 2), to a position mid-way to a fullydeployed position.

The spring clip 13 is unobstructed in this illustration, and is furtherdescribed with respect to FIG. 13 herein. The spring clip fastener 23rigidly connects the spring clip 13 to the wall 12 of the tiller 10.

FIG. 5 is a side plan view of the tiller 10 of FIG. 2, with the supportstand 11 in its fully deployed position. In this configuration, a bottomedge 20 of the support stand 11 rests upon the ground 16 as shown. Thetiller is thus supported by both the support stand 11 and the skids 15(only one of which skids is shown in FIG. 5).

When the support stand 11 is in its fully deployed position, it will notrotate further in the counterclockwise direction, and will only rotateclockwise, as indicated by directional arrow 24. The support stand 11 isstopped from further rotation by the contact between the pivot plate 14and the stop 22, as discussed further with respect to FIG. 6 below.

FIG. 6 is an enlarged detail view of the tiller 10 of FIG. 5, takenalong detail line B of FIG. 5. The pivot plate 14 comprises a first sidebracket 25 and a second side bracket 26. The first side bracket 25 andsecond side bracket 26 extend substantially perpendicularly from thepivot plate 14 and comprise openings (not shown) receive the fastener 19that rotatably connects the support stand 11 to the pivot plate 14.

When the pivot plate 11 is fully rotated with respect to the side 12 ofthe tiller 10, the first side bracket 25 contacts the stop 22 and isprevented from further rotation in the counterclockwise direction. Inthis regard, the stop 22 is angled such that the forward straight side80 is generally parallel to an outer contacting surface of the firstside bracket 25 when the support stand 11 is in its fully deployedposition.

FIG. 7 is a top view of the tiller 10 of FIG. 1, showing the supportstand 11 in its stowed position. As was discussed above, the supportstand 11 rotates in the direction indicated by directional arrow 27 andpivots around the fastener 19 in the pivot plate 14.

The stop 22 extends from the side 12 of the tiller 10, and is in closeproximity to, but does not interfere with the rotation of, the supportstand 11, when the support stand 11 is rotating with the pivot plate 14in the same plane as the side 12 of the tiller 10.

FIG. 8 is a detail view of the tiller 10 of FIG. 7, taken along detailline “C” of FIG. 7. Note that there is a considerable gap 28 between thesupport stand 11 and the side 12 of the tiller 10, and the stop 22 isdisposed within the gap 28. There is not a considerable gap between thebottom edge 29 of the pivot plate 14 and the side 12 of the tiller 10.Therefore, when the pivot plate 14 contacts the stop 22 when the supportstand 11 is in its fully deployed position as discussed herein, the stop22 restrains the pivot plate 14 from further rotation. In other words,the distance between the bottom edge 29 of the pivot plate 14 and theside 12 of the tiller 10 for the pivot plate 14 is less than thedistance between an outermost edge 66 of the stop 22 and the side 12.Additionally, the distance between the support stand 11 and the side 12of the tiller 10 is greater than the distance between the outermost edge66 of the stop 22 and the side 12.

FIG. 9 is a top view of the tiller 10 of FIG. 1, showing the supportstand 11 in its fully deployed position. In this position, the stop 22contacts the first side bracket 25 of the pivot plate 14 and preventsthe pivot plate 14 from rotating further.

FIG. 10 is a top view of the tiller 10 of FIG. 4, showing the supportstand 11 partially rotated but not fully deployed. In this illustration,the support stand 11 has rotated from its stowed position (asillustrated in FIGS. 2 and 7), to a position mid-way to a fully deployedposition. In this position, the support stand 11 has been rotated outfrom the side 12 of the tiller 10 to remove it from the spring clip 13.When the support stand 11 is in its fully deployed position, as shown inFIG. 9, the support stand 11 is rotated back toward the tiller 10 suchthat the support stand 11 contacts the inner surface (not shown) of thepivot plate 14. The rotation of the support stand 11 outwardly duringdeployment enables it to clear the skids 15 and any protrusions (notshown) that extend from the side 12 of the tiller 10.

FIG. 11 a is a side perspective view of the pivot plate 11. In thisembodiment, the pivot plate 14 is formed from a flat sheet of material,such as steel, and is bent into its final shape. The first side bracket25 and second side bracket 26 comprise openings 31 and 32 which receivethe fastener 19 (FIG. 1) that rotatably connects the support stand 11(FIG. 1) to the pivot plate 14. The brackets 25 and 26 are bentoutwardly generally perpendicularly from a base 33 to form a U-shapewhen viewed from the end, as shown in FIG. 11 c.

An opening 30 in the base 33 receives the pivot plate fastener (notshown) that rotatably connects the pivot plate to the side 12 (FIG. 1)of the tiller 10 (FIG. 1).

FIG. 11 b is a side view of the pivot plate 14. The bottom edge 29 ofthe pivot plate 14 is generally flat. In this embodiment, the opening 30in the base 33 is located on an opposite end of the pivot plate 14 fromthe openings 31 and 32, i.e., the opening 30 is offsent from theopenings 31 and 32. These locations ensure that the rotation of thesupport stand 11 (FIG. 1) with respect to the pivot plate 14 does notinterfere and is not interfered with by the rotation of the pivot plate14 with respect to the side 12 (FIG. 1) of the tiller 10 (FIG. 1).

FIG. 12 a is a side perspective view of the spring clip 13 that retainsthe support stand 11 when it is in its stowed position. Upper and lowertabs 13 a and 13 b, respectively, receive the support stand 11 (FIG. 2)and releasably restrain it via a friction fit.

FIG. 12 b is an end view of the spring clip 13 of FIG. 12 a. The springclip 13 retains the support stand 11 (FIG. 2) within an opening 70formed by a base 68 and two sidewalls 71. The upper and lower tabs 13 aand 13 b are outwardly-angled angled for ease in receiving the supportstand 11. Protrusions 69 that retain the support stand 11 (FIG. 2) whenit is in its stowed position. An opening 67 in a base 68 of the springclip 13 receives a fastener (not shown) that attaches the spring clip 13to the side 12 (FIG. 2) of the tiller 10 (FIG. 2).

Although the present disclosure primarily discusses the support stand 11in use with a tiller 10, the support stand 11 may be used on manydifferent types of implements, for example, farm implements to be pulledbehind a tractor. The term “tiller” as used herein may thus refer to anytype of implement on which a support stand may be desired, and is notlimited to an actual tiller.

1. A farming implement connectable to a tractor, the farming implementcomprising: a pivot plate rotatably affixed to a side of the implement;a support stand rotatably affixed to the pivot plate; a stop protrudingfrom the side of the implement, wherein the stop contacts the pivotplate after the pivot plate has rotated a predetermined angle to a fullydeployed position.
 2. The farming implement of claim 1, wherein thepivot plate rotates with respect to the side of the implement in a firstplane substantially parallel to the side of the implement.
 3. Thefarming implement of claim 2, wherein the support stand rotates withrespect to the pivot plate in a second plane.
 4. The farming implementof claim 3, wherein the first plane is substantially perpendicular tothe second plane.
 5. The farming implement of claim 1, wherein when thesupport stand is in the fully deployed position, the support stand iscontactable with a surface upon which the implement rests and maintainsthe implement in a substantially upright position.
 6. The farmingimplement of claim 5, the stop comprising a substantially oblongprotrusion with opposed straight sides.
 7. The device of claim 6,wherein the pivot plate comprises a base portion rotatably affixed tothe side of the implement, and first and second side bracket portionsextending substantially perpendicularly from the base portion, the firstand second side bracket portions receiving the support standtherebetween, the first and second side bracket portions comprisingopenings for receiving one or more fasteners that rotatably affix thesupport stand to the pivot plate.
 8. The device of claim 7, whereineither the first or second side bracket portion contacts a straight sideof the stop when the support stand is in the fully deployed position. 9.The farming implement of claim 1, wherein the farming implement is atiller.
 10. A device comprising: an implement; a pivot plate rotatablyaffixed to the implement, the pivot plate rotatable in a first plane; asupport stand contactable with a supporting surface, the support standrotatably affixed to the pivot plate, the support stand rotatable withrespect to the pivot plate in a second plane that is substantiallyperpendicular to the first plane.
 11. The device of claim 10, the pivotplate rotatably affixed to the implement, the pivot plate rotatableabout a first rotation axis.
 12. The device of claim 11, the supportstand rotatably affixed to the pivot plate along a second axis that isoffset from the first axis.
 13. The device of claim 12, the pivot platerotatably affixed to a substantially flat surface of the implement, thefirst plane substantially parallel to the substantially flat surface.14. The device of claim 13, wherein the pivot plate comprises a baseportion rotatably affixed to the substantially flat surface and firstand second side bracket portions extending substantially perpendicularlyfrom the base portion, the first and second side bracket portionsreceiving the support stand therebetween, the first and second sidebracket portions comprising openings for receiving one or more fastenersthat rotatably affix the support stand to the pivot plate.
 15. Thedevice of claim 14, wherein the base portion is substantially parallelto the substantially flat surface.
 16. The device of claim 15, furthercomprising a stop protruding from the substantially flat surface, thestop contacting the pivot plate after the pivot plate has rotated apredetermined angle to a fully deployed position.
 17. The device ofclaim 16, the stop comprising a substantially oblong protrusion withopposed straight sides.
 18. The device of claim 17, wherein when thesupport stand is in the deployed position, a straight side of the stopcontacts either the first or second side bracket portion.
 19. The deviceof claim 13, further comprising a spring clip extending from thesubstantially flat surface, wherein when the support stand is in thestowed position, the support stand is adjacent to the substantially flatsurface and is retained by the spring clip.